Topsoe to build world largest electrolyzer production facility to accelerate Power-to-X capacity

Topsoe, the global leader in decarbonization technologies, announces its intention to construct world’s largest and most advanced industrial scale electrolyzer production plant, said the company.

Topsoe’s ambition is to rapidly accelerate the adoption of green solutions in particular within Power-to-X. In this field, the company has the leading technology to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as transport, chemicals, steel, and cement.

The new electrolyzer production plant, which will be constructed in Herning, Denmark, will be operational by 2024 and have an annual capacity of 500 MW with scalability up to 5 GW, making it one of the first industrial scale plants of its kind. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year, subject to Board and other regulatory approvals.

Roeland Baan, CEO at Topsoe, says: "We are willing and able to support society’s green ambitions and the need to accelerate the energy transition, and we have the technology to do it. With our new electrolyzer production plant, we lead the way in speeding up commercial-size Power-to-X solutions, and we do it with our highly innovative technology that outmatches technologies currently in the market."

Topsoe is already seeing considerable interest in our Power-to-X solutions and is in advanced discussion with a number of potential partners over future offtake agreements and commitments to reserve capacity from the electrolyzer plant.

Developing a strong Power-to-X industry in Europe will also enforce EU’s ambitions of being independent of energy imports from other regions. The milestone in ensuring large-scale availability of electrolyzers for Power-to-X solutions takes place at the same time as Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and state leaders from Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium signed an agreement, in which the parties agree to invest in a ten-fold capacity increase of offshore wind by 2050. The political agreement ensures significant availability of the renewable power needed to supply future Power-to-X facilities in the EU.

As MRC reported earlier, in February 2021, Haldor Topsoe and Acron Group signed a MoU with the purpose of jointly working within green technologies area. The MoU includes initiatives within joint development of technologies aimed to reduce GHG emissions (СО2 and N2O) at the existing production sites of Acron Group and development of promising projects for new products with minimum environmental impact. Acron Engineering, a Russian engineering research center, which is a part of Acron Group, will be engaged in the work.

We remind that in October 2021, Dow (Midland, Michigan), the world's petrochemical major, and Haldor Topsoe partnered to promote the circular economy. About 300 million tons of plastic waste is produced every year on a global scale. The partnership between Dow and Topsoe marks a new initiative to efficiently convert waste plastics to circular plastics, keeping them out of the environment and responsibly reclaiming their value.

Founded in 1940, Topsoe is a global leader in developing solutions for a decarbonized world, supplying technology, catalysts, and services for worldwide energy transition.
mrchub.com

Kuraray Co Ltd has released its consolidated financial results for the 1Q FY 2022 of the fiscal year ending 31 Dec 2022 (1 Jan-31 Mar 2022), said the company.

In the 1Q FY 2022 (1 Jan-31 Mar 2022), the world economy continued to recover as restrictions on economic activities were eased and more vaccinations were administered in countries around the world despite resurgences of COVID-19.

However, the economic outlook grew unclear due to a global semiconductor shortage and continued logistics disruptions as well as Russia-Ukraine crisis and accelerating inflation. Amid these circumstances, the company further focused on reducing costs and worked to revise sales prices.

Consequently, consolidated operating results for the 1Q FY 2022 are as follows: net sales were Yen 167,558 M (Yen 144,398 M in the 1Q FY 2021); operating income was Yen 22,145 M (Yen 16,786 M in the previous year); ordinary income was Yen 22,295 M (Yen 16,268 M in the previous year); and net income attributable to owners of the parent was Yen 12,701 M (Yen 5282 M in the previous year).

Furthermore, in the 1Q FY 2022, Kuraray recorded an extraordinary loss of Yen 2805 M as costs related to the suspension of operations due mainly to the suspension of some production facilities at a US subsidiary. Total assets increased Yen 39,033 M from the end of the previous fiscal year to Yen 1,130,047 M mainly because of a Yen 19,224 M increase in inventories, a Yen 13,808 M increase in construction in progress, and a Yen 6043 M increase in notes and accounts receivable-trade, and contract assets (notes and accounts receivable-trade in the previous year) despite a Yen 14,586 M decrease in cash and deposits.

Total liabilities increased Yen 11,121 M to Yen 522,533 M due to factors that included a Yen 6029 M increase in notes and accounts payable-trade and a Yen 3507 M increase in long-term borrowings despite a Yen 6392 M decrease in income taxes payable. Net assets rose Yen 27,911 M to Yen 607,514 M. Equity attributable to owners of the parent amounted to Yen 587,509 M, for an equity ratio of 52.0%.

As per MRC, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) has announced its decision to divest operations related to UV-based water treatment and ballast water treatment run by Calgon Carbon Corporation, a Group subsidiary based in the United States. The divested operations will be transferred to De Nora Water Technologies LLC in Italy. The business transfer is scheduled for the end of June.

As MRC informed before, Kuraray America, a subsidiary of the Kuraray Group and one of the leading international companies in the production of specialty chemicals, fibers, resins and elastomers, has resumed operations at its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant in La Porte, Texas, USA. This plant with the capacity of 335,000 mt/year was shut in mid-February because of the unprecedently low temperatures in the region and restarted on 2 April, 2021.

iKuraray America is one of the world's largest specialty chemicals, fibers, resins and elastomers companies. The company's manufacturing facilities are located in Houston, Texas.
mrchub.com

Ineos collaborates with the Molding Solutions business of Barnes Group to develop optimal molding parameters for its new grades of mechanically recycled ABS, said Plasticstoday.

Two new grades of mechanically recycled ABS, featuring either 50% or 70% recycled content, promise to match the properties of prime materials and are the focus of a partnership intent on optimal molding of the materials.

The grades — Terluran ECO GP-22 MR50 and MR70 — from Germany’s Ineos Styrolution are based on post-consumer waste electrical and electronic equipment and will be available in black. The materials are aligned with the company’s pledge to incorporate at least 325 kilotons a year of recycled materials into its products.

“We are convinced that our Terluran ECO is the best mechanically recycled ABS in the world,” said Yohann Bach, Product Director ABS Standard EMEA for Ineos Styrolution. “It offers identical properties to the respective native material.”

Terluran ECO materials are expected to match the mechanical properties of their respective prime Terluran grades, the company said, with no need for downcycling. They are intended to be used in the same applications as prime Terluran GP-22, including household applications and housings for electronic devices. ECO materials compare favorably in performance with prime GP-22, per the company’s data sheets. For instance, the tensile modulus of GP-22 is 2300 MPa vs. 2100 for both ECO variants.

Ineos will collaborate with Molding Solutions, a business unit within the Barnes Group, to explore how best to mold these sustainable materials.

As per MRC, Ineos is to develop a dedicated acetonitrile unit at its Cologne, Germany site to capitalise on anticipated pharmaceuticals sector demand for the material. The company is to develop a 15,000 tonne/year production facility at the site to enhance supplies for its European customer base, on the back of anticipated demand from the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and bioscience sectors. Acetonitrile is usually produced as a co-product of acrylonitrile (ACN) rather than as a standalone product, and is a key component in many drug and nutrition manufacturing processes.

We remind that in April 2021, INEOS Styrolution, Recycling Technologies and Trinseo announced that they had reached a significant milestone in their plans to build commercial polystyrene (PS) recycling plants in Europe. Recycling Technologies has been selected as the technology partner.

mrchub.com

Poland is appealing to the EU to impose additional import tariffs on Russian oil and gas, the government spokesperson has said, said Thefirstnews.

The European Union wants to mobilise around EUR 300 billion by 2030, including around EUR 72 billion in subsidies and EUR 225 billion in loans, to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Piotr Mueller, the Polish government spokesperson, on Wednesday praised the plan but said that it was a shame it was introduced so late because Poland had for years warned against becoming dependent on Russian gas and oil.

At the same time he said that Poland is appealing "here and now" to the European Commission to introduce an additional tariff on Russian oil and gas "so that Russia does not take advantage of this armed conflict, this turmoil on the international arena in terms of fuel prices, does not divide the member states into better and worse... and does not dictate various types of discounts or higher prices."

He added that Poland was proposing either a quick timely embargo on Russian oil, gas and coal, or "a punitive duty that would make EU entrepreneurs want to abandon Russian supplies.

As per MRC, the U.S. House passed a bill on Thursday that allows the U.S. president to issue an energy emergency declaration, making it unlawful for companies to excessively increase gasoline and home fuel prices. The bill must pass the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future, and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

As per MRC, the price of Brent crude oil, the world benchmark, has increased in 2022, partly as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In addition, a strong U.S. dollar means that countries that use currencies other than the U.S. dollar pay more as crude oil prices increase.

We remind, oil prices fell on Monday as concerns over weak economic growth in China, the world's top oil importer, overshadowed fears supply might be crimped by a potential European Union ban on Russian crude.
mrchub.com

Air Products reported 2Q FY 2022 results, said the company.

Asia sales of USD751 M increased 8% over the prior year on 6% higher volumes, particularly on-site volume from new, traditional industrial gas plants; 1% higher pricing; and 1% higher energy cost pass-through.

Operating income of USD204 M increased 3% and adjusted EBITDA of USD322 M increased 2%, as favourable volumes and pricing more than offset higher costs.

Operating margin of 27.1% decreased 140 basis points and adjusted EBITDA margin of 42.8% decreased 240 basis points.

We remind, Pertamina and Air Liquide Indonesia, signed a joint study agreement on capturing carbon emissions from its Balikpapan hydrogen production facility and storing the carbon in the Kutai basin area off East Kalimantan province. Some of the emissions would be converted into products like methanol, which can be used to produce low-carbon fuels, Pertamina said in the statement. Indonesia, which relies heavily on fossil fuels for its energy, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and aims to nearly double the proportion of renewables in its energy mix to 23% by 2025.

As per MRC, Air Products announced that it is teaming up with World Energy to build a new USD2 B major expansion project at World Energy’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and distribution hub in Paramount, California. The L.A. county facility is the world’s first commercial scale and North America’s only SAF production facility and its total fuel capacity will be expanded to 340 MM gallons annually.
mrchub.com